Chickens can and will eat cicadas whenever these bugs can be found around them. Dead or alive, cicadas are considered one of the most delicious treats for chickens.
Chickens will eat cicadas at any stage in their life. The best time to feed them to your chickens is when they have just molted. Another thing note to is that chickens will devour the cicadas in one bite. This could lead to choking and other digestive problems because these bugs are quite large in size.
Chickens can also eat cicadas shells. The discarded shells when cicadas molt are chitinous exoskeleton (large structural polysaccharides) that can’t be digested but are edible enough to provide fiber for the chickens.
Like any other edible insects, cicadas provide a few nutritional benefits when they are consumed directly. For instance, cicadas are high in protein and low in fat and carbohydrates. They also are full of antioxidants that help in reducing inflammation of cells.
* Stink Bugs * Ladybugs * Mealworms * June Bugs * Maggots * Dubia Roaches * Crickets